


Artificial

by janetcarter



Category: The Secret Saturdays
Genre: Gen, Isolation, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25420885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janetcarter/pseuds/janetcarter
Summary: Miranda reflects on her decisions.
Relationships: Arthur Beeman/Miranda Grey (Past)
Kudos: 6
Collections: Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11





	Artificial

**Author's Note:**

> For the Hurt/Comfort Bingo prompt "Isolation."

There were a couple times Abbey had visited her, even lived with her, in the past. 

And Arthur… He'd stay for weeks, using the clear atmosphere as an excuse. The corners of her mouth twitched hearing his "You've got a perfect view of Alpha Centauri, how could I resist?" in her head as his suitcase bounced against her bed.

Several of the stations dotting the map had also welcomed her on occasion. But after everything… she didn't think she could go back there. She'd seen things-- _done things_ \--worlds away from those of scientists studying the cold. (She'd apologize to Paul for such a remark if they were in contact, but even they had an awkward rift she didn't quite know how to bridge.) 

She didn't think she'd ever been this alone. The more she tweaked Deadbolt with upgrades he really didn't need, the quieter his systems became, the lighter his footsteps tread, and the more she felt like she'd never see another human being again. 

Did she even deserve to? After all, how could she allow herself to…

To almost take a child's life.

It wasn't what she had signed up for. No, cryogenic freezing may not have sounded humane to the Saturdays, but it was the better option for _everyone._

But she supposed Arthur never was one to be overly humane. Studying alien life so long may very well have made him forget where he came from. She'd allowed herself to forget that in favor of being on decent terms with him again.

And while the Saturdays accepted her in theory, allowed her to stay in their organization, stick around for a bit after the world hadn't truly ended… It would take a long, long while for their relationship to truly recover, if such a thing were possible. The cracks would always be visible, no matter how meticulously she glued the pieces back together.

She didn't think she was wrong, even now, in her attempts to neutralize a threat. It was as though Doc and Drew forgot the reason they'd stormed Weird World a decade prior. The power of Kur couldn't fall into anyone's hands, not even their own. Why else would they have broken up the stone?

But as soon as their wide-eyed son was revealed to be the cruel beast himself, they lost all direction. Yes, they had been right in the end, but could they really fault her for not trusting them? For not believing an ancient, evil power would do anything to keep itself alive long enough to strike? 

She adored Zak. Truly, she did. But Kur wearing the mask of a child's face was still Kur. And maybe the situation wouldn't have gotten so dire if they'd simply allowed the other scientists the time to figure it out safely.

If… if they even could've. 

She sighed, trying not to dwell on it. It was over, after all… But she was still trudging her way through the fallout. The Saturdays would come around eventually, maybe. Arthur was blacklisted from her systems, and she doubted he'd care to do much else. Abbey was God-knows-where, if even that.

All she had was the wind outside to keep her company. But then again, it wasn't as though that was much different than in the past. 

A metal hand rested on her slumped shoulder. She looked up to find Deadbolt's eyes looking back. She wouldn't say he could feel concern, exactly. But he could process enough information to recognize when she wasn't feeling well and try to solve the problem.

And at this point, it was enough. 

She touched his hand (warm--maybe that upgrade hadn't been for naught), pressed her cheek against it, and exhaled. "Thank you." 

  
  



End file.
